Wednesday, March 24, 2010

To anyone who hasn't ever quite understood why we call him "Brady Boo-Hoo" and/or "Brady Boo," I'll tell you, it was Aunty Aly's fault. She gave him that name when he was only weeks old... Not for the "boo-hoo'ing" that he always did (which he did not - he was such a pleasant and sweet baby!), but after Cindy Loo Hoo, from "The Grinch!" Isn't it something how some nicknames just stick?! I love it, though. Brady is even known to answer to the simple "Boo!" Good times.

Brady has started doing the sweetest thing at bed time. He takes a stuffed toy to bed, be it Pablo from the Backyardigans, or a stuffed horsey. Then he, himself, becomes the caregiver extraordinaire. He explains to me how his little friend is sick, how it needs medicine and a warm blanket, and then he holds it close next to him while he drifts off to sleep. Don't quote me on this, but I have a feeling Brady is a little more "in touch" than the average almost-5-year-old boy. Speaking of birthday, I asked him today about how he'd like to celebrate his birthday; As in, what type of party he would like. The only thing I got out of him, for sure, is that he wants a Triceratops Xtractaur. He has most of them already, so only missing a few, he's in "hunter and gatherer" mode! I have a feeling the party will be at Chuck-E-Cheese, though. ;)

Brady helped me plant some seeds earlier this week. Carter and I had shopped together during the morning, and found some neat little organic pots at Lowe's. We even had a go with the Burpee Concentrated Seed Starting Mix, which I had never heard of before. It's this brick of dry soil that you place in a container, just add a gallon of water, and voila - you have yourself a nice ready-ready-to use soil, whose intended use is starting seeds. How about those veggies!?

As for what we planted - here goes ...

Watermelon, Cucumber, Zuchinni, Carrots, Basil, and Pumpkins! *Already in the ground are Strawberries, Chives, Broccoli, Tomatoes, and one more thing that I can't think of right now! ha!

Brady was such a great helper during this "chore." He carefully placed the soil in each pot, followed by a seed, and finished it with just the right amount of soil on top. He is not afraid of getting his hands dirty. Ask the frog. And the earthworm. And the crickets that we found in the yard on Saturday! :)

Friday, March 19, 2010

SQUIRREL. We've been spending quite a bit more time outside lately, thanks to the much awaited return of Spring-like weather!!! Oh, how excited I am to officially welcome Spring back into our lives tomorrow, March 20, 2010, at 1:32 pm! Not only IS it Spring, but mother nature is in complete and utter agreement!!! Friday (today) - Sunny - Highs around 73! Saturday - Sunny - Highs around 78! Sunday - Partly Cloudy - Highs around 75! Can you hear that?! That's the sound of my painfully mild grin widening to a full smile! After such a LONG, COLD, NEVER-ENDING STORY of WINTER, this Spring could not get here soon enough!

Back to the squirrels. Yesterday, Carter and I were walking along a path in the park, when we noticed squirrel after squirrel along the way. I asked him what he thought the squirrels were hungry for... His answer was, "burgers... and m&m's." Today, at a different park, I just had to ask him again, to see if he'd answer it the same way... His answer, "fruit loops."

"S" is also for "sweet tooth." Ya think? I know this much, he got it honest.

Since I have a few extra minutes to journal here before heading out to carpool, I'll take this time to tell a little about the highlights of this week...

Wednesday was the first day of T-ball practice for Jackson and Brady's team. Rodney is their coach this year! In the Rolesville City league, there are 18 teams, with over 200 kids! He's the team's only coach at this point (recruiting in progress), and with 12 kids, aged 4, 5, & 6, (plus Carter) he's got his hands full! Unfortunately, I was tied up during the first practice, teaching piano at home. Fortunately, the next several practices and games are going to be on Monday and Saturday nights, when I can come and help shoulder the load of coaching, and also keep Carter happy...

Thursday, Jackson's 1st Grade class went on a field trip to Durant Nature Park in Raleigh. Brady was at preschool that morning, so Carter and I naturally tagged along. (I had also signed a waiver that I'd be willing to be a chaperone, and since it was a park, I had no hesitations about bringing Carter with me.) It was a beautiful morning, filled with a visually exciting lesson by a park "ranger" (I guess that's her title?), during which she helped the class understand some basic outdoor terms and concepts, like "habitat," "food chain" and "metamorphosis." The kids were then given little nets on sticks to use at the edge of a huge lake, where they could find all kinds of critters and grossey-thingys. Jackson caught two teeny-tiny baby crayfish. Another couple of classmates caught bullfrogs that were still metamorphing (I don't think that's the right word, but if not, it's close). I had never seen such a thing! It was big and fat, almost like a full grown frog, but still had a big ol' tadpole tail! Unbelievable! The only sour point of the morning was when Jackson's teacher apologetically informed me that the Wake County PSS's policy is that siblings are not welcome on field trips. Darn it! We left soon thereafter, me feeling like I will one day get all my ducks in a nice, straight row. Just not this day. "S" is for someday.

Friday (today) was Brady's field trip with his Preschool class from Hope Lutheran Preschool. I fondly remember Jackson taking the same trip to Kazoom two years ago, and with the same teachers, Ms. Lydia and Ms. Judie. I love how they present to their class ideas of exciting activities that I would have otherwise not considered, or even known about. :) Kazoom is a comedy club where puppets are the name of the game, for clean and timeless family entertainment. Brady sat right next to Ms. Judie, in a perfectly "criss-cross-apple-sauce" manner. I think he really likes her... And judging by the way she glanced down at him, at the first mention of dinosaurs, I believe she thinks fondly of him too. His plaid shorts and brown leather flip flops (which didn't get photographed, "s" is for SHOOT!) reminded me of his daddy. "S" is for sweet.

STAKE CONFERENCE - is this weekend. On Saturday night, I'll be going to the Stake Center on Six Forks Road to sing with the Stake Choir, which I absolutely love doing. I just said "Stake" 3 times! Now I'm feeling hungry.

SUNSHINE - where the boys and I will now go eagerly await daddy's return home from work. He just called and said he was leaving a few minutes early. Balls, bikes, and SIDEWALK CHALK ~ HELLO!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Jackson wanted me to share a masterpiece he created today! He did it first on the whiteboard at school, and came home to eagerly recreate it with a pencil and stark white piece of paper.

Let me 'splain. No, let me sum up. According to Jackson...

*pointing to the eyes - "they're different because he's like, crazy..."*pointing to his forehead - "those are little dots where hair got cut off!"*pointing to the ears - "the right one has a beetle coming out of it... those are ear rings... the left one has a centipede, and nails."*pointing to his chin - "a beard."*pointing to his nose - "it has nose hairs coming out of it."*pointing to his mouth - "he has buck teeth, and a mole."*pointing to his cheek - "that's a piece of fabric - to patch the hole."